Coffeyville Flood: A Town Coming Back from Disaster

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By Zack Smith

The night of June 30th was not a usual Saturday night in Coffeyville, Kansas. The police were driving around the East side of town with mega phones warning people to get out. Others were in the old Wal-Mart parking lot making sand bags. No one knew just how serious this flood was going to get.

Photography by Zack Smith

On the evening of June 30th, the National Weather Service out of Wichita forecasted that the Verdigris River would rise to about 26.3 feet. The levees near the river are only 26.5 feet. As the rain continued on, the National Weather Service increased their thoughts on how high the river would rise—now it was expected to crest at 29.5 feet. This would send water over the levees. Water was reported coming over the levee a little before midnight on Saturday, June 30. As the night went on, the water continued to rise, and come over the levee system. By about 4:00 a.m, on July 1st, water started crossing over the two highways that run through the East side of town. All the roads in and out of Coffeyville were shut down—there was no way out.

Nobody really knew how big of a deal this would be until the sun came up on Sunday morning and the entire East side was engulfed by flood waters. A usually busy intersection, where Highway 166 and 169 meet, was filled with satellite trucks from local as well as national news stations, and the weather channel personnel. Coffeyville went from being a town nobody had heard of, to a town that was making all of the local and national news channels. Everybody knew that this was not a good situation. All the major roads that lead into Coffeyville were shut down—nobody could get in or out of the city.

Photography by Zack Smith

As if the flood itself was not bad enough, matters became worse when nearly ninety thousand gallons of gas, oil, and other substances spilled out of the Coffeyville refinery into the Verdigris River coating everything it touched. The oil spill was detected by City Manager Jeff Morris about 3:30 a.m. on Sunday, July 1st. As refinery workers fled the refinery, when flood waters began to rise, one of the employees forgot to close up one of the valves, causing the major oil spill. The city of Coffeyville was advised not to drink the water because it was likely that contaminated and was asked to conserve water.

There are different flood stages that Coffeyville goes by. At about 18 feet, minor flooding of low-lying areas near the banks of the river can be expected. At 22.0 feet, water can be expected to go over the banks, and end up near Sinclair Oil Company. At 26.5 feet, major flooding is expected. The East side of Coffeyville is expected to flood, as well as river road by the water treatment plant.

Many businesses were destroyed by the devastating flood—about seventy to be exact. Save-A-Lot, a popular grocery store on the East side of town, was one of the businesses that was heavily impacted. The smell of rotten meats and other goods lingered around the area for days, and was strong enough to make one sick to their stomach. The newly built Best Western was also heavily damaged, as well as numerous other hotels around the area. This left only one hotel available in Coffeyville. One of the town’s major events, the annual fair and rodeo, was cancelled due to the flood. The fairgrounds suffered major damage, including a roof collapse on Floral Hall.

Not only were businesses affected by the oily flood, almost the entire residential area on the East side was destroyed. Nearly 320 homes were damaged which displaced about 930 people. Most people that resided on the East side did not carry flood insurance, but there were a few that did. The Hoggatt family was one of the few that carried the insurance. “We were lucky enough to have carried Flood insurance,” said Brittany Hoggatt, whose family lost almost everything in the flood. “On the night that they warned us of the flood, we thought that they were jumping ahead of the gun, but we went ahead and gathered up our most valuable belongings. We put most of the other stuff that was less important in the attic and went and stayed with family. We figured that it would be safe up there,” added Hoggatt. Unfortunately, that was not the case with this flood. “When they finally let us back into my house, it was just devastating. We were able to salvage a little bit of what was left in the attic, but that’s about it. At one point after the flood, I drove by my house and there were watermelons growing in my yard and a deer running through my backyard,” stated Hoggatt. Many people whom lost their house lived with family members, moved to a new house, or simply left Coffeyville all together and relocated to another town. “It just so happen that my parents were looking at a new house before the flood occurred, and they ended up buying it after the flood and that’s where we relocated too,” added Hoggatt.

Photography by Zack Smith

It wasn’t just the people that were affected by the flood. There were many animals that were also displaced. The first animal shelter that was made available was at LeClere Park in Coffeyville. Nearly 200 animals were sheltered there—cats, dogs, birds, and even one fish. Many volunteers came out to help wash, walk, and do anything for the animals. After days of being sheltered at LeClere Park, they were moved to the old Whittier School building, which is climate controlled. Again, many volunteers came out to assist the Humane Society with the animals. Weeks after the flood, the animals that were left unclaimed were left up for adoption by the city of Coffeyville. If there were any pets that were left, they were transferred to a shelter in Kansas City. Plans for a new animal shelter are in works for Coffeyville, as the old one was destroyed by the flood waters.

The flood caused gas prices to soar even higher than they already were. The fuel prices went up because it reduced the production of fuel. Just one day after the Refinery closed down, gas prices went up ten cents a gallon. By the end of that week, gas prices were between $3.25-$3.50 around the Midwest, and were steadily rising. The refinery in Coffeyville produces nearly 108,000 barrels of gasoline a day. The owners of the Coffeyville Refinery were sued by people that were affected by the flood for nearly $4 million.

Only one flood-related death was reported. The man’s body was discovered in one of the hotels, it appeared that he failed to evacuate when ordered to. Some of the rescuers who came in to help became ill because of contact with the oily waters. Many residents that were allowed back into their homes to salvage any belongings were halted because of the fear of more people falling ill from the polluted water.

Photography by Zack Smith

Today, Coffeyville is slowly beginning the rebuilding process. When driving through the East side of town, all that is visible is empty lots where houses had been located. The Coffeyville Refinery bought out all of the houses affected by the flood, and had them knocked down. Making “green-space” is the number one goal of all the empty lots, with hopes of building some more houses. Numerous other businesses affected by the flood have recently re-opened such as Save-A-Lot, Tropical Snow, hotels, and the very popular restaurant Hong Kong Delight.

Many people would think that Coffeyville is no longer an operable town, but that is not the story. There are big banners that hang on the outskirts of town. They welcome people to town as well as let the person know that Coffeyville is still open for business. Recently, Coffeyville received a huge boost when Quartz Mountain Aerospace—a manufacture of single-engine airplanes based in Altus, Oklahoma, announced that it was relocating its sheet-metal subassembly plant in Coffeyville, bringing in several different jobs. The plant was scheduled to open in July. Also, the Fourth of July celebration, which is usually held at Veteran Stadium was held at the fair grounds to show that Coffeyville is making the effort after the flood. Also held at Walter Johnson Park was the 100th Annual Fair and Rodeo—and it was better than ever! Lots of entertainment and other activities made the citizens of Coffeyville realize that Coffeyville is rebuilding, and everything at the fairgrounds was new.

Coffeyville was not the only town that was affected by the July 2007 flood. Other towns such as Independence, Fredonia, and Chanute were affected, but not as badly as Coffeyville because they did not have the oil spill. The oily waters that began in Coffeyville followed the Verdigris River downstream ten miles. There was a major fear that the oil would affect Oolagah Lake in Oklahoma. Oolagah Lake is one of the major water sources for Northeastern Oklahoma, including the city of Tulsa.

As the rebuilding process continues, watch the progress that is being made since the devastating flood. The flood is something that the citizens of Coffeyville will NEVER forget, but WILL recover from.